Roller skate wheel



Dec. 23, 1952 F. G. NEGRI ROLLER SKATE WEEE-L Filed Aug 'BYMVM ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 23, 1952 ROLLER SKATE WHEEL Frank G. Negri, Jamaica, N. Y., assignor to Noel Precision Corporation, Jamaica, N. Y.

Application August 9, 1950, Serial No. 178,503

(Cl. B01-5.7)

1 Claim. l

This invention relates to roller skate wheels and to an improvement over the structure shown in my copending application Serial No. 172,991, led July 10, 1950, for Roller Skate Wheel.

An object of this invention is to provide a roller skate wheel which may be formed out of wood, plastic or other material and which has a pair of anti-friction bearings mounted in the bore thereof with one bearing locked to the wheel body by means of a pair of split locking rings. and the other bearing disposed inwardly of the locked bearing and held in the bore between the locked bearing and a shoulder formed on the spindle or shaft.

Another object of this invention is to provide a roller skate wheel which may be formed out of wood, plastic or the like which has a pair of antifriction bearings in a central bore formed in the wheel body which are so arranged that either the wheel or the bearings may be reversed.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a detail end elevation of a roller skate wheel constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral Ill designates generally a wheel body which is formed with a centrally disposed bore II therethrough. The body I may be formed of Wood, plastic, or other suitable material, and the wheel body I is rotatably mounted on an axle I2 formed with a reduced stud I4 having threads I3 at its outer end.

A pair of anti-friction bearings generally designated as I5 and I6 are disposed about the stud I4 and positioned within the bore I I. The bearing I5 comprises an inner race I'I and an outer race I8 between which balls I9 are rotatably disposed. A retainer 20 is disposed between the two races and engages loosely about the balls I9. The inner race I1 is substantially longer than the outer race projecting from one end of the outer race as shown in Figure 2. The bearing I5 which is the outer bearing is removably locked within the bore II by means of a pair of split resilient locking rings 2| and 22.

The rings 2| and 22 bear against the opposite ends of the outer race I8 and engage in annular grooves 23 and 24, respectively which are formed in the bore II. Each locking ring as shown in Figure l includes an enlargement 25 at the free end thereof which is formed with an opening 26 for receiving a ring contracting tool so that the locking ring may be contracted sufficiently to permit the ring to pass into the bore I I.

The inner anti-friction bearing I6 is formed identical with the outer bearing I 5 and comprises an inner race 2l which is substantially longer than the outer race 28. Balls 29 are disposed between the two races 21 and 28 and are retained by means of a retainer 30. The inner race 2l is adapted to abut against the shoulder 3l formed at the inner end of the stud I4, and when a nut 32 is threaded on the threads I3, inner race 21 is tightly clamped against the shoulder 3I and inner race I1 tightly bears against the outer end of inner race 2l.

The wheel body I0 may also be formed with a second pair of annular grooves 33 and 34 so that if desired the Wheel I0 may be reversed with the inner end thereof disposed outermost and with the outer bearing I5 locked between the rings engaging in the annular grooves 33 and 34. If desired, a second pair of locking rings may be disposed in the grooves 33 and 34, although normally this will not be necessary as the inner bearing I6 is held against endwise movement by clamping engagement against the shoulder 3| and the clamping pressure exerted on bearing I5 by the inner race II of outer bearing I5.

In the use of this roller skate wheel structure, the inner race I6 is slipped over the stud I4, and the outer bearing I5 may be initially locked in the wheel Ill by means of the locking rings 2| and 22. The outer bearing I5 may then be slipped over the stud I4 until the inner race I1 abuts against the inner race 2'I of inner bearing I6. The nut 32 may then be tightly engaged with outer bearing race I'I so as to tightly clamp the two race members I'I and 2'I onto the stud I4 with inner race 2l' 'abutting against shoulder 2 I.

In the event it is necessary to reverse the wheel member I0, this may be done by merely removingnut 32 and withdrawing bearing member I5 and wheel body Ill from the stud I4.

Inner bearing I 6 may be disposed at the outer portion of stud I3 with the inner bearing I5 innermost, or if desired, the bearing I6 may be locked to wheel body I0 by means of locking rings 25. The wheel body It is preferably formed out of wood, although it may be formed out of plastic, fiber or other suitable material. The manner in which the bearings are locked to the wheel body provides a means whereby the metal liner which has heretofore been used may be eliminated.

I claim:

A roller skate wheel comprising a reversible wheel body having a central bore, said wheel body having pairs of spaced annular grooves in said bore, outer bearing races disposed between each pair of grooves and being of a width substantially equal to the distance between the grooves of each pair, an axle including a reduced diameter stud extending into said central bore of the wheel body, said stud forming a shoulder on said axle, inner bearing races surrounding said stud and being longer than said outer bearing races, ball bearings connecting the inner bearing races with the respective outer bearing races, the innermost inner bearing races engaging said axial shoulder and the outermost inner bearing race engaging the innermost inner bearing race, the distance between the groove of each pair adjacent the respective ends of said wheel body being substantially equal to the outer length of the inner bearing races so that upon the wheel body being reversed upon the axle the inner bearing races may still engage each other, resilient lock rings engageable on opposite sides of at least the outer race of the outermost outer bearing race to preclude the longitudinal displacement thereof in said central bore, and a locking nut on said stud, said locking nut and said shoulder precluding displacement of the inner bearing races from said stud and the Wheel assembly from the axle.

FRANK G. NEGRI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number` Name Date 876,836 Blimpton Jan. 14, 1908 1,978,186 Buchanan Oct. 23, 1934 2,022,348 Hoerle Nov. 26, 1935 2,141,122 Boden Dec. 20, 1938 2,405,122 Firth Aug. 6, 1946 2,440,650 Batesole Apr. 27, 1948 2,552,035 Cooke Mayl 8,l 1951 

